What Barack Obama owes Jeri Ryan
Update: The WPRI server’s getting hit hard. Christian has cross-posted his piece here in case you can’t get through on the original link.
***
Remember actress Jeri Ryan of Star Trek fame? Barack Obama’s fate is tied to hers. Christian Schneider has a timely reminder at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute of how Ms. Ryan changed the face of Democrat presidential politics. Read the whole thing (hat tip - reader Dennis via Charlie Sykes)
Writes Dennis: “Speaks to the fact that he’s never really been tested in a campaign, no?”
Yep. It also speaks to how all the planning and calculation in the world by the Clinton machine was unraveled by a totally unforeseen sex scandal–not even of their own making. For once.
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i don’t think Obama has enough “messages of hope” for the general election. we, the thinking electorate, actually want substance, sir.
It truly is amazing how things can turn on the smallest thing.
I wish Jack would have kicked Obama’s Blank for what they did to him and Jeri (not to mention their child.). But, if he can put an end to the Clinton Dynasty, I’ll look the other way.
Resistance is Futile
Hey remind me to tease Jeri about that when we date later.
I mean if Hillary is destined to be president than I have a chance right ?
Let’s see if Obambi is as good at landing on his feet as Jeri Ryan has been.
Jeri has a great starring role on the James Woods series “Shark”.
Obambi is a pampered pet from Yale who doesn’t have the breadth or depth of understanding about the hardball world in which our Nation functions.
Marvin Gaye songs and “Jack Kennedy” sounding phrases about hopes and dreams are just big gassy bags of cheese whiz.
Let’s tank this puppy before he gets any big ideas about what he is in this Nation.
He is a third rate politician without a track record of any importance. Plus he is an Illinois ward politician.
And, btw, when are we going to hear his full name in the sound bites? We hear Hillary Rodham Clinton all the time. Why not Barrack Hussein Obambi?
Savage is raking him right now—- he has that “shocked look” of a man who never expected it to get this far.
It’s a Borg plot!!!!
7of Nine, making sure we will be assimilated.
With those ears, Obama, must be part Ferengi.
Yes, if you have her email address, please forward mine…
Kidding, but only sort of…
Guess we just crashed the WPRI blog server. Good job
Now, I face a quandry. I do have the full post saved in my feed reader, but I do not want to steal the traffic from Chris (mainly because he will kill me my next trip to Madison). Do I repost over at my place?
Pictures will suffice…
I covered that part this afternoon
So the question is “can the accidental candidate become the accidental president?”
Unfortunately, when you consider the populist trend around the globe that has propped up the likes of Putin & Chavez, and you look at the “regime changes” in Australia & Britain, one can only wonder if France will be the last man standing up against the islamofacist surge… ?
Forget about Obama being Black, is this country willing to elect a president named Hussein?
Lets hope it does not take another terrorist attack to find out. Where is Archie Bunker when you need him!
Meanwhile, the Huckster continues to look like a deer in the headlights, and nobody is sensing “gravitas” in Romney - yet.
I have seen Star Trek with Capt Kirk a lot of times.Who is Jeri
Shhhhhh….quiet on all this Obambi criticism.
Let him beat Hillary and put an end to the Clinton era. Then we can start on his inexperience once they are out of the way, but give him a chance to take them out.
Think “Star Trek: Voyager” (Spike carries it in syndication now). She plays a rather hot (understatement of the year) ex-Borg that joined the series about halfway through its run.
Obama may win the Dem nomination, but he will get trounced by someone like Mitt Romney in the general election.
All of his “oratory” skills will never make him president. There’s no substance to Mr. Empty Suit.
I really hope he pulls off the total destruction of the POTUS dreams of “she who must be named.” I guess she is not the leader of the Borg (or Communist) collective after all. Prepare to be assimilated resistance is futile indeed. In my best Captain Kirk voice, “set phasers on slaughter and fire all photon torpedoes!”
Never understood why they made her wear her hair in a bun.
Jeri? I never noticed her hair.
Sorry, Chris. I had to repost the whole thing because the WPRI blog is just running too slow.
If the WPRI blog crashes on you, Chris cross-posted it over at his personal blog, Atomic Trousers.
Let’s just hope that Obama’s chances of being president are made of the same stuff as Star Trek.
Let fantasy meet reality.
Jeri Ryan…
7 of 9…
WANT TO ASSIMILATE - NO RESISTANCE WILL BE OFFERED!
I sure hope Seven never goes near Fort Marcy Park. I’m still hoping for a Voyager movie and it just wouldn’t be the same without her.
Sorry guys, she’s remarried to a chef and expecting a baby. A seemingly nice, normal life after all the scandal.
Best wishes to her and her family.
Oh yeah, and Voyager was my favorite of all the Star Trek series. I was quite disappointed when it ended. I’m still hoping for a movie….
Hmm well said MNgirl, let the borg collective destroy itself from within like a crappy virus.
KTLK ROCKS!!!
shimauma2
Maybe after they have been assimilated DK will beam them up to his UFO before he hits the throttle …
So the theory is that if Hillary wins the nomination the Clinton clique will somehow win the Presidential election?
And with that, does it stand that criticizing BHusseinOmbambi helps the Pasty One regain her stolen glory?
I don’t get either one of those.
And is there a candidate in the Republican Big Tent that can move off their pre-painted in pink “dancing on demerol” dance steps to stick a fork in the Pon Raul campaign before the convention?
If Obambi rolls over Clinton and My Little Pony Boy like a D4 Cat in heat, and the Pubbies are still trying to figure John “Give me my Props” McCain come February— how will the nominee consolidate power in order to crush Obambi?
The point where I disagree with the article is “the salacious testimony of a woman scorned”. Jeri Ryan was his wife, not some interfering outside vamp. And, she wasn’t “scorned”, Jack Ryan was trying to pressure her to into joining him in sex club orgies.
Very different things there.
Speak of this more and you risk sounding like the Simpson’s “Comic Book Guy” -
Homer: I’d like to buy a mint-condition “Spider Man” #1, please.
Comic Book Guy: And I’d like an hour on the holodeck with 7 of 9.
Yikes…I had totally forgotten about that whole situation. We lived in Chicago at the time, and I think everyone was pretty horrified when details started to leak out.
That whole “Republicans are hypocrites” argument doesn’t fly when your own party asks you to step aside. If only they had picked someone besides Alan Keyes…
I was just explaining to my girlfriend the other day that the only reason Obama was on the national stage was because the Treason Media took out Jack Ryan - the guy had a frigging Tom Clancy hero name! - because he allegedly wanted to have sex with……..HIS WIFE!!!
Sure, it was tawdry, sleazy stuff (if true), but once again it shows that while the Stupid Party quickly executes those who run afoul of the law or common decency, the Dems protect and celebrate their reprobates, gathering power for themselves. Life’s easy when you have no shame.
BlameAmericaLast (#15)
I hope you’re right— I am surrounded by people who say they will vote to put Ron Paul or Barack Obama in the White House (scary thing is, they don’t seem to care either way, as long as it is one of the two).
I saw this coming after the ‘06 DNC. The media wasted no time in naming Obama as the next great
whitehope for our country. As an Illinoisan, all I can say is, “we’re sorry, America” (and his picture is listed in Webster’s next to the word ‘rhetoric,’ as that’s all that comes out of his ‘articulate’ mouth).All of the Dem candidates this time around are potential poison for our Nation. It’s still too early to tell who will make it as the choice for each party (anyone could fall upon the ‘Dean scream’ sword at any time), but I’m not sure I have enough faith in the average voter NOT to put Obama or Clinton in the Oval Office for all the wrong reasons. This could be the single scariest election of the last 30 years… and that’s saying a lot.
I’ll gladly be assimilated - once I see more photos of Jeri!
Michelle:
The Jeri Ryan kerfuffle isn’t the first time the stars have smiled brightly on Barack Obama.
Lest we forget, during the 2004 Senatorial campaign Obama faced stiff competition for his own party’s nomination. The Democratic frontrunner that year was multimillionaire Blair Hull. According to his Wikipedia entry, Hull “enjoyed a substantial lead and widespread name recognition resulting from a well-financed advertisement effort. He contributed over $28 million of his personal wealth for the campaign.”
So what happened? Wikipedia informs us, and American Thinker’s Ed Lasky confirms, that a month before the primary elections, a scandal broke that hit Hull hard.
“About a month before the vote,” Lasky writes, “The Chicago Tribune revealed, near the bottom of a long profile of Hull, that during a divorce proceeding, Hull’s second wife filed for an order of protection. In the following few days, the matter erupted into a full-fledged scandal that ended up destroying the Hull campaign and handing Obama an easy primary victory.”
According to Wikipedia, Hull’s ex-wife alleged a physical confrontation wherein the Senatorial candidate supposedly threatened to kill her. Hull was arrested for battery though no charges were ever filed.
Lasky also points out the following, so take note: “The Tribune reporter who wrote the original piece later acknowledged in print that the Obama camp had ‘worked aggressively behind the scenes’ to push the story.”
Coincidentally, it was also the Chicago Tribune (along with WLS-TV) that broke that Jeri Ryan scandal. So that’s twice in one campaign that both front runners were torpedoed by scandals leaked by the same newspaper. Obama essentially coasted to a party nomination, then an election victory, by default. How many times in recent political history has that happened?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blair_Hull
http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/04/soros_obama_and_the_millionair.html
How could I forget her.
Obama’s message of time for change is hollow…he can’t deliver. His legs are too skinny.
The problem is that the Chicago Tribune didn’t cause Ryan to try to force his wife into the sex club scene anymore than Drudge caused BillyBoy to “stain” Monica’s dress. Unfortunately there are sleazoids on both the left and the right, DD. And they are their own undoing.
We don’t know that he did. People say a lot of things in the middle of a divorce. The real culprit here is the Democratic judge who decided that he really needed to unseal their private divorce proceedings. He did that against Jeri’s wishes.
Gives a whole new meaning to the saying, hell hath no fury.
“The problem is that the Chicago Tribune didn’t cause Ryan to try to force his wife into the sex club scene”
You mean you don’t know what he did, flenser. There’s no reason to believe his wife lied, especially since the stories could easily be disproven and since, as you noted, she fought not to have her husband’s habits made public.
There are quite a few people who still believe Monica was lying or that she was at the very least part of a VRWC. Some people just are do shameful things. But the piper must be paid somewhere along the line. Witness the disgraced Sen. Craig and his wide stance.
For every action there is a reaction or as the old saying goes “your sins will find you out”. It’s a gamble, youse put down your money and youse takes yer chances. But it’s not wise to make such bets if one intends to pursue a career in the very high-profile world of politics.
Such things could have been covered up without any notice a 100 years ago or so. But this is the age of YouTube, TMZ and “inquiring minds”. Even if a man doesn’t have the moral background to know to treat his wife right, the possibility of public exposure should caution him to straighten up and mind himself.
It’s gotta hurt Jeri to have her name dragged through the poop again.
Maybe it will turn out good for her and America, anyway. American voters might just actually THINK before voting for a Democrat for President and the Ryan gefuffle will end up permanently forgotten. We can hope and pray.
Klatoo, mirada nickto.
Ka’plagh!
I know. I know. Scotty “canna change the laws a physics!”
Sheesh. It’s late…
Bingo, bango, boingo. I have been saying this for a couple of years now.
If Jack Ryan hadn’t dropped out of the race there’s a more than equal chance that Obama wouldn’t have won his seat and most Americans wouldn’t even know who the heck he is. Now he’s the messiah.
But he’s a messiah who hasn’t ever done any miracles. He didn’t even get himself elected senator, Ryan and Keyes did that. But the Democratic party and the media had to put and keep him in the spotlight to distract people away from the fact that the Dems (who regularly garner 95+% of the black vote) had managed to elect only one black senator, and hadn’t had any at all for the past two years, and, on top of that, had passed over a black man for the leadership of the DNC.
So I suppose, in a sense, Obama was the Dem. party’s salvation. He saved them from the accuasation that all of their talk about empowering minorities was just that…talk. They love black people, they just wouldn’t want their daughter to marry one.
And now, in the ultimate example of affirmative action, they are going to try their darndest to put an absolutely unqualified African American into the White House.
If they are successful, it won’t prove to anyone that the U.S. isn’t a racist nation, but it will sure make the Dems feel good about themselves.
And that’s what Obama is for. He doesn’t “act black” like Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton. He’s a “clean” and “articulate” African American. He’s Sidney Poitier in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. The kind Dems just might let their daughter date. And he’s going to give all of the aging baby-boomers a chance to finally vote for a black man before they die.
Oh, and Jeri could assimliate me any damn day of the week.
I repeat, all sorts of accusations get thrown around in divorce proceedings. And wives lie all the time. Wake up.
You’re kind of a loon.
I have been blaming her specifically for Obama since Ryan dropped out of the race.
Lets be honest guys… If you were married to Jeri, wouldn’t YOU strongly consider public sex, if only to prove you were having sex with Jeri Ryan? AJ, back me up here…
But you have zero evidence that occured in this case. You just have emotions to go on; how you feel about it. I sometimes have to remind others that feelings do not = facts.
On to the facts, as upsteeing as they are: Ryan’s wife noted the times he brought her to sex clubs and tried to talk her into joining in on the public sex activities. To this Ryan confessed he arranged, what in a fit of Clintonion is-is sex parsing he called “romantic getaways” to an “avant-garde nightclub in Paris”.
As I said, it would have certainly been easy enough to prove that he wanted her to try out some kind of “beatnik poetry club” instead of sex clubs. Go to them with reporters in tow or just give them the addresses of these clean, wholesome, family-friendly “avante-guard” joints. Would’ve cleared everything up on the spot.
What a silly thing to say. Even if it were so, it’s like claiming “Husbands rob banks all the time, therefore Jack Ryan is a bank robber.” The claims make no logical sense and fall in on themselves. At any rate, you’re still stuck with a complete lack of any evidence of untruth here.
“There are quite a few people who still believe Monica was lying or that she was at the very least part of a VRWC.”
Do you dispute the truth of what I said there? Or are you just enraged because you cannot dispute it?
There are a great many people who are still in denial about BillyBoy’s sleaziness and chalk it up to the VWRC. You are aware of that, no? Just as you need a conspiracy of sorts to explain Jack Ryan’s sleaziness. In your mind it’s impossible that he could do such a thing - there must be some excuse, no matter that the excuse makes no sense and contradicts the facts. It’s the same as with the Clinton defenders. You’re in the same boat.
I’ve never felt the need to resort to personal attacks, so I’ll let you figure out for yourself if offering emotional, meaningless excuses is more “looney” than acknowledging the simple fact that people do make some very bad choices.
This was the case with Jack Ryan, he made a series of very bad choices and ended up having to pay for those choices. Had he taken responsibility early on he probably wouldn’t have had to pay so much. But we live in times when even adults are shucking off any notion of personal responsibility.
Naw, I’d just let others imagine it all and let them turn green with envy, swj!
Besides, I’d have to handle the snickers about my nekkid bod. I’d have to send in a ripped “stunt double”. heh.
As I said in my email a couple weeks ago; Obama should not complain about being swift-boated since he himself benefitted by it. I believe he was part of the release of the documents.
It was not much of a sex scandal either. Even Jeri Ryan said her ex is a good man.
The episode points out the stupidity of the Republican party. They shoot themselves in the foot, instead of shooting at the enemy. Ryan should have stayed in, and fought.
so sick and tired of the cowardice Republicans show in politics.
Worked so far for Larry Craig - and there we’re talking about what was a criminal matter. (Minor tho it may be)
I agree - let the voters decide if they want someone, with whatever the candidates’ “warts” may be, to stick around in office or not. A candidate shouldn’t be forced out by their party.
Yet another reason not to like “Voyager”, though I had gotten used to it despite it becoming the Seven of Nine show.
Um… purplepeep…
My point was that Obama’s opponent in the Democrat primaries was also forced to resign from the race at the last minute because of a personal scandal, enabling Obama to win by default.
Your comment about Drudge and Monica’s dress is a non sequitur.
Thank Ray Lahood.
He promised to run a challenger to the incumbent Republican Senator who held Obama’s seat — Peter Fitzgerald.
It was an act of revenge because Fitzgerald selected the U.S. prosecuter for Illinois, who put the corrupt Illinois former Governor in prison.
It was a republican governor named George Ryan.
Then Fitzgerald decided not to run for reelection. Jack Ryan was the candidate to replace Fitzgerald.
When Jack Ryan’s divorce records came out, again it was Ray LaHood leading the charge to force him out of the race.
Ray LaHood refused to sign the “contract with America”, endorsed amnesty, and is a real embarassment.
He is my congressman IL -18th and he is retireing with Dennis Hastert, who covered up the Mark Foley page scandel.
Illinois is as corrupt as Louisiana, and Jersey.
Have a Happy New Year everybody.
My point, DD, is if people don’t carry on doing things that are personally scandalous to start with they wouldn’t need to drop out later on. Such persons are the cause of their own downfall. I don’t feel glee about that, but it’s hard for me to work up much sympathy.
I think it follows, at least in the context that people often have a natural tendency to reject negatives about “their guy”. The invoking of a VRWC to take down Clinton is a form of diversion-denial. It’s hard for people to admit their guy is sleazy, but sometimes a rat is just a rat. As I said, unfortunately these types are not limited to one political philosophy.
Barack worries me.
Hillary and Edwards mobilize our sleepy base in a way that none of the GOP candidates do–including sleepy Fred.
Obama is less polarizing. He’s teflon as far as I can see.
Unfortunately, his race, his name and his flirtation with Islam do not alienate enough voters in 2008.
1ManMilitia, where in town are you?
LaHood is my congressman too!
Wait till he sits in the Prez seat he will find he can’t change anything! Evrything thing looks different when you really sit in the chair!
I always liked Jeri Ryan. It’s not just her form-fitting catsuit on Voyager (not that there’s anything wrong with that). In interviews she shows an impish sense of humor and a really hearty laugh. She’s an Army brat and (at least while married to Jack Ryan) was a rare active Republican in Hollywood. And even those who hated Voyager can’t deny that she had great chemistry with Kate Mulgrew in any episode where they were in conflict. She’s no Meryl Streep, but she’s also not just eye candy — the lady can act.
I read her divorce deposition on “The Smoking Gun” when it was leaked. It was really awful reading — nobody should have such things published on the internet. From my perspective, her deposition was very believable. It didn’t read like a spurned woman throwing her husband to the wolves. Among other things, even while the two of them were estranged, she made huge contributions to his campaign and supported him in public. In her deposition she explicitly stated that she believed he would be a great representative for the people of Illinois. I’d still like to know the full story of how a private deposition got leaked to the media. My guess is that Team Obama is just as dirty as Team Clinton.
As Jay Leno said at the time, “Only the Republicans could have a sex scandal involving a guy and his wife, nobody else, and no actual sex because she was mad at him.” Yes, Obama owes Jeri Ryan a great big thank-you for his political career. But I don’t think she would welcome the sentiment.
58 comments from loyal trekkies and nobody said it yet, so here goes:
Obama will be elected. Prepare your conservative distinctiveness to join the Democratic collective. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!
Purplepeep, nobody’s going to confuse me with the Comic Book Store guy. A few others on this thread, I’m not so sure about
All very fascinating and enlightening, purplepeep, but it has nothing to do with my point.
One more time: Obama is, to be charitable, the luckiest politician alive. The only reason he has attained his current standing is because both his opponents in the 2004 Senatorial race imploded. If Hull’s campaign had not been racked by scandal, Obama would not be Senator and would not be the 2008 Dem presidential front runner. Ryan’s self-destruction was dumb luck piled on top of dumb luck.
I asked if anyone else could remember another recent race where a candidate (D or R) coasted to victory in a similar fashion and so far no one one has come up with any examples. Instead, you cite me Monica’s dress. Yes, PP, that definitely qualifies in my book as a non sequitur.
Remember, lgm, resistance is only futile after the election. This soon, ?????
And purplepeep, I’m not sure anyone would notice your (or mine, for that matter) less than fabulous nekkid bod if Jerry Ryan was even in the room.
I think I agree with DubiousD on the Obama coasting to victory thing. In both the primary and General elections his stronger opponent was forced out both times. Hence, Obama won by strategic positioning, not fighting.
Does anyone rememebr the rather week presidential election of 1996? I like Bob Dole a whole lot, but at that time only Colin Powell could likely have toppled Slick, and he didn’t run. With Ross Peeeerot nosing in again, Slick also won that race by strategic positioning.
Despite Obama maybe not being the best choice, and this maybe being a tough race, he could still pull it off. Maybe, anyhow.
Anton #58, I agree, well said. Jeri is the opposite to most Hollywood/Media types. She’s intelligent, she can act and she at least was an active Republican. One can only hope she still is. A well-known Republican voice in that left-coast mess is most welcome. Love or hate Voyager/The Star Trek genre, the actors, as in all shows, are at the mercy of the writers/producers. They have to do what they’re told via the scripts they’re handed.
Yeah, Obama coasted in to victory twice and Jeri and others paid a high price. As I said, maybe Americans will actually THINK before voting in November. Miracles do happen.
Well, DD, I don’t know of any campaign that has ever been the same as another.
You’re better illustrating my point of comparison in asking, though. There is certainly no lack of far left goofballs who are still railing about the GW Bush 2000 (and 2004) wins. They make the same argument - if not amazing luck, it had to be a coup .
But, here, the fact is no matter whom Ryan had to run against he would still have had to deal with the consequences of his behavior.
When the simplest explanation works just fine, I personally have no need for anything more.
This was just a case of a candidate (Ryan), due his own failings, making a gift of an election to an opponent. Happens all to often. Nothing less, nothing more. But I don’t know that “he benefited from our screwups” is exactly the battlecry I’d want to take up on this.
I do agree luck (fate, life, whatever term) provides a neverending supply of things that both delight and anger. That’s just it’s nature.